The Query Letter

This is about how much progress it feels like you're making writing your query letter.

So here it is. The one that got me the golden ticket! This was probably the four-thousandth version of my basic pitch for the book. The first two paragraphs set up the basics of the story and hopefully engaged the reader enough to keep going. The third paragraph is a little more indulgent, trusting that the first two, brief paragraphs had earned me enough capital to spend on a few flourishes, a few fun turns of phrase. This paragraph also revealed more about the conflict of the story and concluded without a resolution to that conflict; in fact, the query only takes the reader to the halfway point of the book.

Paragraph four is straight genre, word count and title along with a minor info dump of themes. It's scary putting that last part in, but I was trusting the first three paragraphs did their job. Agents are interest in knowing what audience the story will appeal to and identifying some of the issues explored in the book help them do that. Some people put this at the top of the letter, but I think, just as in an actual book, you have to grab your audience from the first sentence.

Finally, the personal touch. I was prompted to sen this query to Laura due to a tweet I saw that morning. Mentioning the tweet as well as how my story lined up with her personal tastes as expressed on the agency website allowed me to connect my work to this individual, not to a mass audience. I believe even when everything else is in place, forgetting to make this small personal connection will prevent even the best query letter from standing out in the mountain of slush sent to an agent everyday.

Take a look at the actual letter below. You'll see there is no magic in the prose. It takes constant revision and tightening to get a proper rhythm to this kind of letter. And it never feels natural to reduce an entire book (or even half of a book) down to three paragraphs. Furthermore, what appeals to one agent may not appeal to another. Everything is subjective and timing is something you can't predict or control.

Tune in next time to see how this letter resulted in an immediate offer of representation! (That's a little joke for the newbies).

Dear Laura,

Coming into her senior year after a jilted suitor posted private sexting messages onto the school Facebook page, Mila Cavanaugh is struggling with her new notoriety.  When she meets Rup, an unnervingly hot and domineering college student, she learns any problem can be solved by a master manipulator for the right price. 

Each time Mila stumbles Rup is there to help her back up, but each new favor requires Mila to fall deeper into Rup’s sphere of influence.  As his recompense goes from inconvenient to criminal, Mila finds herself moving away from Rup and toward her best friend’s brother Blake who is always there for her, asking nothing in return. 

Just as Mila’s life starts to resemble normal again, a new threat emerges: a grainy video taken after a long night of partying, one that could ruin more than just her reputation.  In trying to contain the video Mila learns that Rup has been behind every problem he’s ever solved for her.  Now he’s offering to make the video go away forever, but his price is a night alone with him.  Giving herself over to Rup could bury her worst mistake under the weight of an even greater one, costing her something she can only give away once.  If she can learn Rup’s true identity and expose him as the monster he really is, Mila may be able to get the upper hand in a game she didn’t even know she was playing.

UNSEND is my 65,000 word YA contemporary novel inspired by the RUMPELSTILTSKIN fairy tale.  While there are no angry dwarfs or spindles of spun gold in this retelling, there is peer pressure, manipulation, sexting, stalking, and self-image issues.

Seeing your tweet this morning about unexpected retellings of classic tales and reading your wish list at Red Sofa's website gives me hope this story will be a wonderful fit.  Per your submission guidelines, I have not included sample pages and will keep myself from being incarcerated until I hear back from you.

Sincerely,

Shawn Keenan

Punch It, Chewie!

We're out of Carbon Freeze!

Well, here’s an entry I wasn’t sure was ever going to get written.  Today I am an agented author.  That’s right, a real human being, with experience at selling books to publishers, nay, an actual career doing so, has said, “Yes, I will spend my time championing what you wrote.  I will speak in its favor and put it in front of people who can mass produce it and sell it to other human people.”

I have a literary agent.  Or she has me.  We’re still working out the dynamics.  To the uninitiated, this means what I said above but it doesn’t mean other things.  I am not a published author.  I do not have a published book.  What I have is a partnership with one of the gatekeepers.  A professional in the industry who acts as a vital go-between for authors and publishers.  And there are a lot of authors and a relatively small number of publishers.  Agents are queried every year by thousands of authors and only a handful of those submissions result in an offer of representation.  Having an agent is a critical step and one that took many years to accomplish, much longer than it did to write several books.

So it’s hard to overstate or understate the momentous occasion signing up with a literary agent is for an aspiring author.  My moment was today.  I’m super grateful Laura Zats of Red Sofa Literary saw something in my manuscript worth going to bat for.  There will be many more hours spent honing the story and, with any luck, countless hours more working with a publisher doing the same thing once it’s picked up.

I look forward to sharing the story of my journey to this point on this blog over the next several months and even more in sharing the journey that still lies ahead.  Thanks for tuning in.  I hope to make this blog informative to those interested in writing and entertaining to those who just love to read.  Truly, I hope to be entertaining to all, even the illiterate.  I will endeavor to post amusing pictures at regular intervals; I’m not above pandering. 

If you know someone interested in the process of getting published, point them my way.  I’ll also be updating on twitter @shawnpkeenan, so go follow me there as well (Follow me?  I sound like a cult leader).

Anyway, more to come soon. 

I think things are about to get interesting.   

Thawing

So, in continuing with the "coming out of hibernation" analogy, here's my current state.  Buttons have been pushed.  Carbonite has begun to heat up, or get irritated, or whatever is happening up there.  The clock is ticking.  Can you hear it?  Things are about to change.  It's time to pick up some momentum.  It's time to get things rolling.

I'm looking forward to sharing some big news with everyone next week.  If you're into writing and have aspirations of becoming published, share this blog with a friend.  There will be lots of great information about that subject coming soon.

There will also be a sweaty guy falling out of a slab of grey goo onto a dusty floor.  Stay tuned!

He Survived. And He's in Perfect Hibernation.

Have you ever felt stuck at a certain point in your life?  All of your efforts and exertion have been for naught?  Been double crossed by a certain City Administrator and frozen in a block of carbonite just when it looked like things were going to start getting good?

As is evident from my infrequent posts, I've been in a state of suspended animation lately.  Not in every aspect of my life.  In many arenas, things have been moving ahead full steam.  But in my efforts to become a published author, things have been stagnant for a few months now.

Tomorrow, that may change.  Princess Leia has just infiltrated Jabba's palace.  If all goes according to plan, I'll be hopping behind the controls of my beloved ship tomorrow and shooting into hyperspace toward my next adventure.

The other option is that I will be tossed into the Sarlacc Pit.

It's always the way, isn't it?

I look forward to letting everyone know how things turned out (and what even happened).  The amazing image above is a shot of my actual birthday cake.  Today is my birthday!  It was wonderful and Han was delicious.  I received all the love and gifts I could possibly hope for from friends and family, but like Ralphie, I'm still poking around for one last gift that I've been asking for as long as I can remember.

I hope you will all stop by again to see if I've earned the privilege of shooting my eye out.

Not a Review of GO SET A WATCHMAN

It's heeeerre.

  

I really hate it when people comment on something like a book or movie when they haven't even seen or read it themselves.  And reviews are so subjective, inevitably influenced by the writer's own tastes or outlook on life.  But I was already worried about this "sequel" to arguably the most beloved American novel in history from the get go.  You know what they say.  "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."  What were the odds that another novel as inspiring as TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD existed out there, undiscovered in the world, by the nation's most reclusive and least prolific author?  

It would seem the odds remain extremely low.

The consensus appears to be that this novel is a first (and rejected) draft of TKAM.  A draft that showed promise mostly in the flashback scenes of Scout's youth.  As the story goes, Harper Lee's editor helped nudge the author to a seemingly massive rewrite that changed just about everything this original draft was into the classic so many know and love.  My books have first drafts also (and I'm not comparing myself to Harper Lee), but my first drafts aren't good.  Getting a story down in its initial form is one of my least favorite parts of writing because, invariably, it's going to pretty much suck.  

You should have seen the first draft of this article.  Barely readable.  

I suspect this novel is a like the thing Edison made just before he managed to cobble together the light bulb.  Probably some shadows of the greatness to come, but ultimately not something anyone should rely on to turn night into day.

Not wanting to spoil anything for those of you who plan to read this book, let me just warn you:  Based on what I've read about it, get ready to be disillusioned.  Some may feel the story arc of this book is a welcome departure from the idealistic themes of the original.  I would say, "The original novel is no fairy tale itself."  But at least there is hope, and heroes, and a feeling that mankind's better inclinations will eventually win the day. 

Having written a book that I hold dear in my heart, I feel I owe Ms. Harper Lee some allegiance in this pivotal moment in her career as a writer.  There are certain authors and even bands that when they release something, I buy it, sight unseen.  Doesn't matter what I've heard about it, I just get it, to support the artists who have provided me in the past with art that enriched my life and broadened my view of the world around me.  

As for Ms. Lee, I will support her the best way I know how.  I will not read GO SET A WATCHMAN, and hopefully by doing so, preserve, at least for myself, the impact of one of the greatest novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

  

 

Goodreads Review - The Husband's Secret

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a masterfully crafted story. So often, the little clues and connecting points in the first part of the book feel obvious and wedged in, but by the end, everything had a purpose and felt right at home where you discovered it. The way the three main character's stories dovetailed was so natural and believable. This really is three stories in one. Unlike so other books that use this storytelling device, I never found myself bored with one of the three. They all held my attention equally, with a minor exception near the end when a critical moment in two of the stories finally developed. Only one minor complaint is the epilogue. While interesting, I found it a little heavy handed and almost apologetic for some of the edge in the book, but not enough to sour me on any of it. Great read from an author who can fill a story with the minutia and detail of ordinary lives while still keeping you spellbound.

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Goodreads Review - Eleanor and Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book came highly recommended by a friend, and I was not disappointed. It’s a young adult, first love story without false angst. The angst is warranted, purposeful, and understandable. The characters are perfectly unique without being at all cartoony. Eleanor and Park are real people that could easily exist somewhere. Within just a few quick chapters I was heavily invested in both characters. About halfway through the story I reached that critical point: the book had potential for greatness, everything was lining up. Would it make a huge mistake, just finish well, or become one of those stories that will affect you for days? I would say it finished well and stayed with me for a few days. The last fourth of the book moved along like it needed to and kept me up late reading it. And the finish was quick and not drawn out. Without spoiling anything, I will say the ending was satisfying if not as impactful as it had the potential to be.

I really love these two characters equally, which is not that common. Usually one of the two main characters in a book like this comes across as more complete or more relatable, especially when both of them are quite different. In this case, I felt compassion for both Park and Eleanor. Their story did an amazing job of capturing the uncertain, awkward, exhilarating first pangs of new love.


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